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Subject:Accelerator cable question
From:Tom Young
Date:Tue, 1 Oct 2002 17:12:34 -0700

Hey everybody:

The last time I ordered an accelerator cable from Bus Depot for my '81
Vanagon I actually ordered 2 cables; one for the immediate problem - busted
cable - and one "just in case."  Anyway, the accelerator on my
recently-acquired '82 Westy was feeling stiff and sticky so I got the
"spare" from the garage, removed the old cable (good thing, too; it was
rusty and had a couple of frayed wires) and installed the new one.
Everything was going OK until I got back to the engine to hook up that end:
it was too short, probably by about 1/2 inch!  (I had noticed when I took
off the old cable both barrel clamps were right at the ends of the cable.)
There's no way to hook up this cable without holding the throttle open.

So I took off the "new" cable and measured it; it was right at 3552mm, 13mm
(1/2 inch) short of the required 3565mm.

Anyway, is there anything I can do short of running down to the local VW
dealer and paying $15, and waiting 2 days?

On my bike I know I can effectively "lengthen" a cable by shortening the
cable casing that it rides in, but I'm not sure I can do that here.  That
casing looks mighty tough and I'm not sure how effective such a move would
be since the casing is attached to the chassis at various points.

Anybody have any words of wisdom?

TIA.
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Tom Young                        '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549          '82 Westfalia
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